CEO Column

Mike Reynolds CEO, Farm Credit East

ONE FARM CREDIT EAST

Just over a decade ago, there were four associations serving Northeast agriculture, commercial fishing and forest products. Today, there is one Farm Credit East.

Joining forces was necessary to optimize skills and resources to provide the most value to our customers. With this most recent merger, Farm Credit East was fortunate to merge with an outstanding organization in Yankee Farm Credit. I invite you to read this issue’s cover story to learn more about our new customers and team members in what we’re calling the Northern Region. I think you’ll see what was clear as we undertook the merger — we have much in common across our eight states.

Operating as one Farm Credit East, our sole mission is to provide best-in-class credit and financial services to our members. To do this effectively, our team needs to operate utilizing consistent tools and processes.

We appreciate the patience of our members in the Northern Region as our staff and customers get up to speed on our systems and processes. Know that this standardization will benefit the cooperative and provide value to all our members going forward.

We’re also listening to and value our customers’ feedback. You’ve asked for enhanced digital tools to have your information available at your fingertips and that is what we aim to provide. Up to this point, many of our digital enhancements have been internal to deliver on our consistent approach to customer service. As we continue to build on these tools, some of our progress will become more visible to customers.

Last spring, we launched an improved online banking experience for customers to manage their funds at their convenience. As part of that tool, you may also opt to receive your billing statements electronically. This past fall, we launched an ongoing customer survey to capture your feedback in real time.

Later this year, we’ll be launching a redesigned website experience along with an enhanced customer portal and corresponding app called Farm Credit Connect. The improved website aims to serve you information relevant to your business and your industry. Farm Credit Connect will provide increased access to your data, including loan and crop insurance information, as well as an enhanced process to share data with your Farm Credit East team. We’ve been pleased to incorporate feedback from a digital experience customer group in Farm Credit Connect’s development process. We’ll continue to build on these platforms to further enhance your digital experience while ensuring the security of your data.

Relationships remain at the core of our business and new access points like Farm Credit Connect are just the next step in the evolution of that relationship. Improved digital tools serve to complement customer relationships — not replace them — providing the team with more time to strategize with you on the future of your business. As we grow our digital offerings, each step in our digital journey is a building block to enhance your experience doing business with us. We’ll continue to evolve in this journey.

As the Chinese proverb states, “Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” Know that your cooperative is not standing still. Just as your businesses are constantly evolving to adapt to changing business conditions and consumer demands, we are evolving to best serve your business needs.

The future of agriculture in our region is bright. I think you’ll agree after reading about the promising students aspiring to careers in agriculture and related fields later in this issue.

For 106 years, we’ve been a trusted financial partner to Northeast agriculture, commercial fishing and forest products. This is not a role we take lightly, nor will we be complacent about it. Since day one we have been a relationship lender owned by our customers. Customers have always remained at the forefront of our business — just as they will as we continue to evolve as One Farm Credit East.